The Seer Amongst the Serpents
by Y.H-Night
Summary: There's something about a woman with a loud mind, smiling knowing she can crush you with the truth. -R.G Moon An OC story
1. Chapter 1

**AN: New Story! Yay!**

 **This one is an OC into the Harry Potter universe. Please like, follow, and review.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **-Crystal Knight**

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Like usual sunlight pouring into her small room woke her. Brushing her teeth and combing her hair, Himari donned the uniform hanging from the exposed water pipe in the corner of the small room, walked downstairs and began tidying up the little cafe. Humming along to a catchy song she'd heard from the radio, she had just started to set out plates and napkins, when a dull thunk drew her attention to the front of the Cafe.

She blinked.

A barn owl was smashed against the clear glass of the cafe window.

Himari stared as the creature succumbed to gravity, eyes drawn to the slight smudge on the glass that remained as evidence of the mishap. After a few moments she shrugged and turned back to the task at hand.

"Hoo"

Himari shrieked throwing the nearest object she could grab. The owl let out a panicked hoot as it avoided the fork she'd flung wildly before turning it's glowing yellow eyes to glare at her accusingly.

Behind the owl the fork bounced of the wall and clattered noisily to the floor.

"Himari, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine Oba-san!" She answered her grandmother's call, eyes warily tracking the movements of the animal perched on the counter.

The owl ruffled its feathers, preening itself in an almost dismissive and haughty way.

Himari relaxed a little as the owl's focus turned away from her, no longer feeling judged by its piercing stare.

"Sheesh you scared me, little guy," She sighed putting down the rest of the utensils in her hand, "How on earth did you get in here?" She asked.

Her mouth dropped as it gestured at the open window in the back. She really hadn't expected the creature to answer.

"You can understand me?" Himari asked.

The owl puffed out its chest and turned to her with a look that said, "Of course I can."

She frowned at the animal's pretense of superiority, ignoring it she turned back to the pile of folded napkins.

"Ow!" a sharp pinch on the back of her hand brought her attention back to the blasted creature.

"What are you…" the owl dropped a letter in her pile of cutlery giving one last shake of its head before jumping up and flying back out the window.

Himari stared, and to thin she'd thought her life couldn't get any weirder.

She reached out towards the letter the owl had left behind eyes tracing over the emerald green ink on the front.

 _To Mrs. H. Fusao_

 _The Unfinished Bedroom, Above Wisteria Cafe_

 _6B Sunflower Street_

 _Little Whinging_

 _Surrey_

She cracked open the intricate wax seal and unfolded the letter.

The first few lines of the letter caused Himari to choke, "Oba-san!"

"Yes, Himari!"

"Can you come down here please." She called out, reading the letter over and over again until the words began to blur.

Her Grandmother walked down the stairs still wearing her pale green bathrobe and slippers. Himari held out the paper in her hands towards her as soon as the old woman was in reaching distance.

Oba-san read over the letter with narrowed eyes her sun-spotted skin crinkled with concentration.

Himari watched intently as her grandmother finished reading and put the letter down with a sigh.

"Well, I guess this was bound to happen eventually." Her grandmother said tucking silvery grey hair behind her ear. She looked calm even as Himari was certain that her own face was in a permanent state of shock.

Himari had always been a little jealous of her grandmother's ability to maintain her poise. Once, as a young child, Himari had made an attempt to emulate the strict woman's mature beauty. By the end of her efforts, she had ripped a very expensive kimono, spent most of the day crying as her grandmother nursed her skinned knees, and was then scolded for breaking a very expensive vase.

Himari felt like that mishap summed up her relationship with her grandmother very well.

"What was bound to happen eventually, Magic school?" Himari asked incredulously.

Her grandmother looked sternly over at her from over the top of the letter, "Don't take that tone with me Himari-chan, it's unbecoming of a lady."

Himari spluttered, "Oba-san, did you read the supply list!" she gestured wildly at the letter

"A cauldron, they want me to buy a cauldron!"

"Yes, we must make sure that we get you a good one if the bottom is too thin, who can account for what sorts of potion accidents you'll have." Her grandmother tutted as she looked down at the list again.

"Potion accidents," Himari whispered.

Her grandmother sighed at Himari's dazed look, "Yes if I remember correctly your grandfather was quite talented at brewing."

Oba-san smiled walking into the kitchen as Himari sat down shakily on one of the counter stools, mind swirling with images of flying broomsticks, toad eyes, and black cats.

Unconsciously she grabbed the cup of tea that her grandmother set down before her, inhaling the calming scent of jasmine.

"How is this possible?" She looked up at Oba-san eyes still wide with shock.

"I met your grandfather when I was visiting family in Miyajima." Himari sipped her tea as her grandmother sat down beside her.

Himari had heard this story before, Oba-san had been the youngest girl of a large family of 7. Forced to work unsavory jobs, she was doomed to a mediocre life but she was driven and focused undeterreed by the limited prospects for young girls in Japan.

She had been quite a beauty in her youth, a fact still evident even in her old age. High cheekbones and her narrow nose once covered with dewy pale skin had been replaced with wrinkles and sunspots of old age, but she still possessed an air about her of beauty and grace that attracted eyes on the street.

Using her looks, Oba-san had managed to get herself training and work at a very prestigious Geisha house, in combination with working side jobs she had started saving up money for a ticket to the U.K.

The climax to her story had been when she'd met Kusuo Fujioka, my Grandfather, they had bumped into each other on multiple occasions before my Grandfather had worked up the nerve to ask her on a date. Oba-san had promptly turned him down seven times until he'd given up and apologized for bothering her.

Himari enjoyed the fondness that filled her Grandmother's eyes as she recalled the shock on his face as she accepted his apology with a date offer.

This story though, this one was new.

Oba-san told a tale of a desperate girl stuck at sea in a small ferry boat battered back and forth by raging winds.

"He saved my life, that useless scrub of a man flew us out of that storm, on a broomstick of all things." Her Grandmother snorted at the image, and Himari took another sip of tea only to realize her cup was empty.

"So Oji-chan was a wizard?"

Her grandmother nodded, "And so was your mother."

"Mom was a wizard?" She asked, careful to keep her voice level.

"The correct term I believe is witch," Oba-san said stiffly, Himari grimaced at Oba-san's face, pretending to drink out of her empty cup to fill in the awkward silence.

Oba-san always got touchy when the subject of her mom arose, and even though Himari desperately wanted to learn more about the woman who had brought her into this world, the look in her grandmother's eyes always made her pause.

Himari had been three years old when her mother had passed away. The only memories she possessed of the woman were of bright smiles and a lilting voice singing Japanese lullabies.

Her grandmother recovered handing the letter back to Himari, "Kusuo attended Mahoutokoro when he was young, and your mother did as well."

Himari looked back down at the letter, "This says it's from a school called Hogwarts." She grimaced, what kind of name was Hogwarts?

"Ah yes it is quite a prestigious school, when we moved to the UK we considered transferring your mother, but Kusuo felt the curriculum change would hurt her education," Oba-san said wistfully.

Himari refrained from pointing out that taking a journey to and from Japan every day seemed like it'd "hurt her mother's education".

"Well, that settles it." Oba-san stood up shaking off the last of the nostalgic weary look from her eyes, and gathering their teacups, "We'll go shopping for your new school things next week." She clapped her hands firmly in determination.

"For now, those napkins won't fold themselves Himari," She said promptly turning around and heading into the kitchen.

Leaving Himari alone, stunned into silence, surrounded by a pile of unfolded napkins.

 **-o-**

To be honest, the fact that Himari was a witch shouldn't have come as such a surprise.

Weird things had always happened to her, like the time in third grade when Roger Herald had cut of her pigtail, and she'd gotten so angry that she had blinked and the boy went utterly bald, hair vanished like it had never existed before. Or when she had caught Maddy Cordon trying to cut off a cat's tail and had ended up with a new pet and a girl meowing instead of speaking words.

Or the time she'd gone shopping with Oba-san for some antique chairs and picked up a particularly ornate mahogany chair promptly dropping it when her vision swam until she had stood behind the chair holding up the slim figure of the Queen.

Himari wasn't so sure about the last one being a sign of magic, but it was either that, or she was crazy (Which she definitely wasn't). Although looking at the street around her, that was getting harder and harder to prove.

Diagon Alley was terrifying and amazing. The number of colors and people walking around in robes (and god forbid pointed hats) made her want to simultaneously scream for joy, and faint away in shock.

"All right it seems we have almost everything except for your wand and an owl."

"We're actually getting an owl, can we afford that?" Himari asked incredulously looking up at her grandmother.

"Of course we are, I expect weekly updates on your grades, slacking off is not an option even in a magical school." Oba-san scoffed, and that was the end of that arguement.

After spending another hour looking at all possible owl breeds and settling on an admittedly beautiful barn owl that they promptly named (With originality only Fujioka women could possess) Fukuro.

"Alright go ahead and get your wand over there. I'm going to buy some magical baking pans for the cafe." Oba-san pointed to a small shop. Himari squinted, making out a flourishing cursive sign that read Ollivanders.

Himari walked into the shop, the door squeaking close behind her. Her eyes widened at the shelves and shelves of boxes stacked high to the ceilings.

"Ah, how can I help you today?"

Himari jumped in shock knocking into a large stack of boxes behind her that promptly collapsed into a heap on the ground.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She yelped bending down to try and fix the mess she'd made.

"My dear don't worry about that." The white-haired man behind the counter smiled gently coming around to help her.

She smiled gratefully taking the hand he held out to help her up.

"So dear, I imagine your here for your first wand." The man said.

"Yes, um Himari Fujioka." She bowed slightly in greeting

The man let out a hearty laugh "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Fujioka, as you could have guessed I am Mr. Ollivander."

"Pleasure to meet you." She said courteously

Mr. Ollivander smiled at her words eyes sharpening as he focused on Himari who felt uncomfortable under his piercing gaze.

"Which one is your wand arm?" The man asked.

"Right… I think." She said nervously as Mr. Ollivander approached her with measuring tapes.

"Are you a muggleborn?"

"No, my mom was a witch," Himari answered ducking as the man rushed by to one of the shelves.

The man's face lightened in understanding, "Ah, I assume she attended Mahoutokoro."

Himari nodded.

"Wonderful," Ollivander said, "Here then try this, Cherry, 10 inches, with a unicorn hair core, slightly springy, Cherry is a coveted wand wood in Japan." He held out a wand which she took tentatively in her hand, she gave it a slight flick only for the wand to be taken away a moment later.

"No, No, No," Ollivander muttered rushing back to the shelves.

"Um, Mr. Ollivander.."

"Here Sycamore, 11 inches, swishy, Dragon heartstring." Ollivander interrupted. The wand barely touched her hand before it was snatched back.

He paused staring at her intently in a way that made her shift nervously.

"Do you have any Seer blood?" He asked.

"Um, Seer what?"

"Yes, Yes I think this would work." Mr. Ollivander ignored her question, muttering under his breath as he disappeared into the back once again, emerging after a couple of minutes with a dusty box.

"Here quite an old wand, Silver lime was quite popular back in the days," He mused out loud, eyes misted with nostalgia as he tenderly opened the box and removed the wand, "swishy, 12 and a half inches, Dragon heartstring core."

The wand that was handed to her was a beautiful light colored wood irregularly shaped and carved with a raised handle. The instant it touched her hands the wood warmed, and a breeze blew through the dusty shop.

Himari thanked the strange old man and paid for her wand (with what she sincerely hoped were not solid gold coins) hand clutched tightly around the smooth warm wood of her new wand as she left, a tingly buzzing feeling in her fingers made her smile with anticipation. Maybe magic wouldn't be so weird after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Yay Chapter 2! probably going to be a while before I get chapter 3 on here since junior year is about to begin. I wish summer was longer TT.**

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Himari turned the page of her book, eyes taking in the words hungrily. Behind her, the British countryside blurred by.

She looked up as a loud thump made the walls of the compartment shake, the door burst open as two people entered.

The pair scrambled over each other crawling into the luggage space overhead as an angry looking girl, covered in some sort of green slime stormed by wand brandished in front of her like a knife.

She threw the compartment door open with a bang, and Himari quickly looked away from the two newcomers hiding above her head and back down at her book.

"Have you seen two redheads pass by?" The girl growled.

Himari snuck a glance back up at the two very "red headed" boys before pointing to the left of the compartment. She watched as an unusually large clump of goop dripped out of the girl's hair and fell to the floor with an audible splat.

Without another word, the girl whirled around shutting the door just as hard as she'd opened it, running off to where Himari had pointed.

Alone again Himari looked back up at the two strangers who stared down at her with identical brown eyes.

 _Twins huh_ , Himari thought staring at the redheads who stared right back.

"Hi there." She said.

"Hello." The twin on the left raised a hand in greeting.

Satisfied by her amount of social interaction Himari looked back down at her potions book.

From the grunts and the sounds of shifting in the compartment, she assumed the two were in the process of extracting themselves from their hiding places.

"You're not going to introduce yourself?" The other twin asked as soon as they were back on the ground. His clothing had been pulled askew and his hair looked like it'd been blown every which way by the wind.

"Himari Fujioka." She looked back up. _Eye contact, remember to always keep eye contact._ Himari chanted in her head forcing herself to ignore the fascinating passage on the effects of Shrivelfigs.

"Fred."

"And George."

"Weasley" at your service the two finished with a synchronized bow.

She stared at them blankly. How was one supposed to react to something like that?

"So I imagine the green jelly on that angry looking girl that just passed was your doing," Himari said bluntly breaking the awkward silence.

Fred gasped in shock, "What a baseless accusation."

"Us innocent little first years doing something dastardly like that, inconceivable." George swooned dramatically in disbelief.

Himari smiled slightly at their antics.

"I see so you just happened to stumble into my compartment out of sheer coincidence."

"The details of why we decided to grace you with our presence are neither here nor there Ms. Fujioka," Fred said sagely.

"And what a wonderful presence it is." Himari deadpanned.

"I agree with the lovely lady Fred, we are such wonderful people," George threw an arm around his brother's shoulder.

Himari laughed as the twins flashed her matching grins.

Her positive reaction to their joke seemed to be the cue the two needed to stay, they glanced at eachother sharing what she assumed was a meaningful look before taking a seat across from her.

"So Himari, you're a first year?" Fred asked.

She nodded, "Yup, fresh from ignorance and face first into the chaos that is magic."

His mouth opened in to an O of surprise, "Muggle parents?"

"Grandmother, but she knew about the whole thing." She answered

"And she didn't tell you." George whistled, "That is one mean old lady."

 _Tell me about it,_ Himari sighed out loud, she was used to Oba-san's blunt and strict nature, she had been living with it for 10 years.

"Honestly I think in her mind the whole lack of explanation was just practical," She mused aloud.

"Well, at least you won't be alone."

"How so?" Himari asked George, looking at him quizzically, she didn't know any magical people.

"Us my dear," Fred said, "We owe you one for covering for us."

"As repayment of our debt, you have the Weasley twins at your beck and call here to brighten up your first year of Hogwarts." George finished for his brother.

She was surprised by the blatant pledge from the two, "Really don't worry about it, you don't have to do anything to repay me."

"And dishonor our good name," Fred said aghast, "I think not!"

Himari chuckled lightly raising her hands in defeat, "Alright, alright, thank you then, guess this year won't be horrible after all."

"Of course not," George grinned, "Now put away that book and let us enlighten you little grasshopper in the ways of magic and mischief."

Himari frowned dramatically at the order but nevertheless closed her book gently and uncurled herself from her position by the window. The rest of the ride was spent with smiles and laughter over stories of the twins abundance of siblings and the "genius" pranks the two were planning to pull off.

It was fascinating to hear about life in a magical family, and the two told such wonderful stories that they had heard from older siblings about Hogwarts. It was comforting to know that even magic born children were looking forward to Hogwarts as much as she was.

Himari snorted as Fred recounted how they'd tricked their eldest brother Bill into dancing with an old lady they'd told him was a Veela in disguise. As George reenacted their brother's face of horror, Himari found herself thinking that this was going to be a good year.

 **-o-**

"Fujioka, Himari!"

Himari clenched her fists, concealed behind the baggy sleeves of her robes, as she took a nervous step forward. The Great hall was silent, four tables filled with students of all ages had their eyes fixed upon her.

Himari stared up at the ceiling that reflected the starry night sky. Nervously she took a seat, and the harsh looking professor that reminded her of Oba-san placed the old pointed hat on her head.

 _"Ah hello there."_

 _"Hello,"_ Himari thought back in greeting.

 _"Polite, that is an excellent quality to possess."_

Himari found herself thinking how weird it was to be embarrassed by a hat, _"I'm sorry, but could you perhaps explain how this sorting process really works?"_

 _"Did you not listen to my song?"_ The Sorting hat asked.

 _"No, no, no,"_ Himari denied frantically, _"I was just a little confused behind the merits of dividing people into living arrangements due to similar qualities."_

 _"Those of similar minds tend to share similar views of the world, by grouping them together they have a chance to support and cultivate each individual consciousness with a strong support base of like-minded peers._ " The Sorting Hat answered.

 _"Or you limit the growth of the next generation and create a society that is so rigid that children can not stray from the paths of their forefathers,"_ Himari pointed out.

The hat fell silent.

For a moment she worried that she'd managed to insult the magical item, then laughter filled her head, _"Ah, a bright and cunning mind perhaps you would do well in Ravenclaw."_ If hats could smile Himari imagined the sorting hat would be right now.

 _"No that's not right,"_ The hat amended _"You have far to much ambition to be limited to the pursuit of knowledge."_

 _"Ambition?"_

 _"Yes, I see your desire to become wealthy, to live a life where no wish is unattainable."_

Himari smiled at the somewhat blunt description, _"Guilty as charged."_ She shrugged.

 _"Yet your motivations are surprisingly unselfish…. But still, as much as I've enjoyed this conversation, I have kept you too long, better be..."_

 **"Slytherin!"**

Cheers erupted from the table decked in the colors of emerald green. Himari smiled brightly. Rising from the stool and handing the hat back to Professor McGonagall she bounded forward taking an empty seat.

Himari watched as the rest of the sorting progressed. To her disappointment the Weasley twins were both sorted into Gryffindor. Swallowing her downcast feelings she clapped politely as she watched the two take a seat next to two other similar looking redheads who she assumed was their older brothers.

When the sorting had finished, the prefects led the first years to the dorms. The Slytherin dorms were in the Dungeon, already imagining how cold the dormitory would get in the winter Himari made a mental note to write back to Oba-san to see if she could scrounge up some winter clothes for Himari to wear.

"Welcome to Slytherin, I am Isolde Selwyn," The female prefect said from the front of the room, gaining the attention of all the first years.

"The password for today is Gorgon's blood, the password changes every three days and the new one will be posted in the common room."

Here the pretty blonde haired girl grinned deviously, "If you forget the password do not think that I or any other Slytherin will help you."

 _Well so much for a support base_ , Himari thought dryly as the first years traded nervous looks.

"You have made it into the most prestigious house in this school, but don't think you're safe." Isolde glared, "Lose points, shame our house's name and I will personally ensure that you will suffer," She said coldly.

With that inspiring note, Isolde pointed out the girls and boys dormitories and left the nervous first years to panic amongst themselves.

Himari couldn't help but be impressed by Isolde's use of fear, she wielded it with skill that Himari hadn't seen before, even amongst the pettiest of her old school's bullies.

The girls' dormitory was small filled with four beds and decorated in the same dreary gothic style as the common room. Green lamps hung above each bed, which were situated in each corner of the room. Himari picked a bed close to the window that was a dark murky black.

She got ready for bed as the other girls settled in. Taking out a book Himari watched as one of the girls smoothed out the wrinkles on her expensive looking nightgown.

"So how about a round of introductions," The girl purred flipping her sleek ink black hair over her shoulder. She was a pretty girl with wide eyes that gave her an intense almost crazed look, her cheekbones and nose were well defined, and her skin was an enviable blemish free expanse of white.

"I'm Scylla Carrow, a pureblood. My Father and brother are prominent members of the ministry of magic." The girl said proudly, Himari's eyebrow raised at the strange addition to the introduction but shrugged it off as being a magic thing.

She continued reading as a mousy looking girl introduced herself as Madeline Hopper. Madeline looked nervous as Scylla, and the other girl gave her disgusted looks when she proclaimed herself a half-blood.

The other girl, with a thick neck, solid jawline and beady black eyes named herself Lenore Bulstrode, a pureblood.

"And you," Scylla asked politely when the silence in the room drew out to an awkward length.

Himari looked up from the book at her three roommates. Scylla a petty, slightly crazy, queen bee, Lenore, mean, but lacking the ambition to ever be more than a follower, and Madeline a girl used to being pushed around by those stronger than her, willing to do anything to survive. Himari felt no interest to make an effort to become friends.

Despite the power that Scylla might wield, Himari did not feel it was worth the energy nor the stress that would come from befriending an ambitious, vain girl.

"Fujioka, Himari," She nodded in greeting and returned to her book. Good, enough to seem polite but also uninterested in a relationship. Himari flipped the page.

"Oh, you're Japanese!" Madeline said excitedly.

Himari nodded in answer.

"Are the Fujioka's a pureblood family?" Scylla asked with interest.

"I'm a little unsure what that term means," Himari answered honestly, and Lenore and Scylla visibly recoiled.

"Oh, honey are you an orphan?" Scylla asked sympathetically her smile oozed with fake pity.

"Well, I guess I don't have parents so yes," Himari said bluntly, her tone edged with the annoyance she felt.

The statement didn't even phase Scylla who frowned reaching out a hand to pat her hand consolingly, "Honey, I'm so sorry,"

Despite her somber tone, Scylla's eyes remained cold and focused,"I didn't mean to bring up hard feelings, I just wanted to know if your family were all wizards or muggles, you know, non-magical folk?"

Sensing danger in the question, Himari closed her book and focused her attention on the other girl. She didn't wish to needlessly anger her dorm mate, enemies would make life hard, but her magical lineage seemed to be strangely significant.

The question was, was it better to admit to her not being "pureblooded" or to face Scylla's rage after telling a possible lie. "My mom and my grandfather are magical, and I don't know anything about my dad." She answered amenably, and the girls seemed to accept the answer.

The sharp smiled Scylla gave her unsettled Himari, but she knew that she'd given nothing for the other girl to think she was a threat.

The rest of the night was filled with inane chatter, which for the large part Himari ignored. Lenore had at one memorable moment suggested she look into a family tree to determine if Fujioka's were purebloods. To which she politely thanked the girl for her "brilliant" suggestion.

As soon as she finished reading she bid the others good night, turning off the lamp over her bed and covering herself with the velvet emerald green sheets.

 **-o-**

The potions classroom was very similar to the Slytherin common rooms. The same dank stale air that filled most of the dungeons mixed with the scents of potions ingredients in an unpleasing way.

Himari had found a seat somewhere in the middle, a place that would neither draw her too much attention nor let her fade away from the teacher's mind completely.

Next to her sat another first year, a tall boy with short red hair and glasses. She still did not know his name as neither of them had made an attempt to initiate conversation.

The potions professor, Snape, stood at the front of the room. He had started the class in a remarkably similar way to non-magic school by going over class expectations.

"There will be absolutely no fooling around in this class," He said, looking over the class with cold eyes, "I expect nothing but your full effort and attention."

Himari pulled out her beginner's potions kit as Snape wrote out the instructions for making the Cure for boils on the board.

Following them, she crushed the snake fangs meticulously until they were a fine powder and carefully measured a tablespoon out. Looking down at the ingredients she hesitated and then made up her mind adding the snake fangs and then stirring until it was all incorporated.

"Ms. Fujioka, what are you doing?" Snape's deep voice came from behind her almost making her drop the next measure of snake fangs.

The annoyance in his voice made Himari almost regret her actions, but this was knowledge she needed to know. Years of baking had taught her the importance of following instructions to the letter, but she had also learned that nothing would be gained if she did not experiment now. Better to take the poor grades in first year and excel in the class in the more critical later years.

"Stirring sir."

"Where in the instructions does it tell you to do that?"

The tables closest to her were watching the conversation, a Hufflepuff girl was so engrossed that her potion had started to boil over the edges of her cauldron.

Himari debated her options. She could explain her process and possibly be reprimanded and gain a reputation as a rule breaker, or she could just answer him and earn Snape's ere and be labeled as a dunderhead.

"I thought that the idea that Mr. Jigger presented on his Strength potion that well-incorporated snake fangs would produce a more potent potion could be applied here as well," She explained neutrally.

The boy next to her raised an eyebrow in surprise at her answer.

Himari ignored the attention of the rest of the class maintaining eye contact with Snape, careful to keep her features schooled in a way that came off sincere.

"The strength potion is not covered until Third year Ms. Fujioka," Snape said a dangerous edge to his voice.

"I know," She answered staring back unwaveringly, "I finished reading the textbook."

Snape's eyes narrowed at her answer, "You do realize unauthorized experimentation with your potion is dangerous, your arrogance and lack of foresight could have resulted in disaster."

Himari winced slightly, at his blunt words. She believed that Snape, competent potion master he seemed to be, would be able to prevent any potential disasters, but it didn't change the fact that she knew the danger and still went ahead anyway.

"I am sorry for my actions, I realize the danger in my foolish ways." She looked embarrassedly away from the Professor, in the corner she caught sight of a smirking Scylla.

It seemed the conversation from last night had not been as friendly as it'd appeared. Himari honestly wasn't surprised.

"In the future, Ms. Fujioka, make sure you consult me first before experimenting with your potions," Snape said coldly.

She nodded meekly.

"A serious accident could have occurred if your theory had been wrong,"

Himari looked back up, the harsh look on Snape's face had somewhat softened into a look of approval.

"Take 10 points, Ms. Fujioka, for coming to class prepared and applying your knowledge."

He turned towards the rest of the class, "Let this be a lesson that those who strive to learn, will be rewarded," He finished dramatically before sweeping forward to fix the situation with the Hufflepuff's cauldron.

Himari smiled, a feeling of pride blooming in her chest. She finished her potion with plenty of time to spare, and the warmth she felt increased as Snape gave her a satisfied nod at the pink smoke coming from her potion.

It also helped to see that Scylla's potion had become a gelatinous red goop. Himari pointedly looked away fighting a smile as the girl glared daggers at her head.

 **-o-**

The Slytherin common rooms were dark and eerie, flooded by green light from the lake and the lamps. While the aura was somewhat melancholy and mysterious, it made reading somewhat hard.

With her free time, Himari canvassed the library finding a perfect corner near a window that was both comfortable and well lit. The somewhat annoying robes, that served as the Hogwarts uniform, made her spot more comfortable acting as portable blankets.

Curiously enough in her corner, she found a companion: her potions partner from earlier today the one with red hair, sat on the windowsill beside her, his own pile of books rivaled the size of her own.

"Can I borrow that book?" The quiet voice drew her attention away from learning about the rune Eihwaz.

"Sure." She said amiably, handing him the Transfiguration book from her pile.

"Grayson Selwyn."

She looked back up at the boy who was looking at her over his book,

"Himari Fujioka," she replied.

The two turned away from each other and went back to their individual reading.

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 **Please Review and tell me what you think of this story so far. I hope you enjoyed!**

 **-Crystal Knight**


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy Labor Day!**

 **Saddly I am back in school and it's only day four but i have so much homework. I miss watching Netflix and writing all day.**

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"Fujioka."

Himari stopped on the staircase leading down to the dorms.

Isolde Selwyn swooped down upon her with a dramatic air that would make even Snape jealous. "I hear that you are a regular potions genius."

"I enjoy the subject," She answered plainly.

"That's good," Isolde purred, "You know if you want to take the Princeps role for your year, I'll back your play."

Himari fought back the urge to react on her surprise. She had learned from her short few weeks in Slytherin that the house was very hierarchal. They lived by the rules of strong eats the weak and each year was led by one power holder called the Princeps.

Himari knew that she lacked the pedigree and connections that it took to become a Princeps and the fact that Isolde a powerful Princeps herself with a pureblood family would back her play seemed fishy. Her grin seemed sharp and it didn't reach her eyes, there was a game to be played here and Himari didn't like being one of its pieces.

"I appreciate the offer." Himari smiled politely, "But I don't think I'm quite suited for a leaders role."

Isolde's smile fell away, "Really?"

Himari kept her smile up, even as Isolde's expression had become predatory and intimidating.

"Really I am grateful," She bowed her head slightly to Isolde.

Isolde scowled, her look turned to one of disgust and slight surprise, "You lack ambition," She scoffed pushing past her leaving Himari alone on the stairs.

Himari had managed to anger the prefect, but she couldn't regret her actions. Watching as the Blonde stalked off she felt like she'd just won a victory. Besides if she ever made a play for power it would be on her own terms, for now, she was content to sit back and watch.

 **-o-**

Slytherin thrived of politics and toxic relationships. The first years were in a scramble to assert their dominance or create alliances to ensure they would not become targets at the bottom of the pecking order.

It quickly became apparent which members of their year held the power: Scylla Carrow and Caelum Flint. The Pureblood that Scylla had mentioned the first night was a vital status to have in Slytherin, by having even a drop of muggle blood you were automatically labeled as a lesser being.

Caelum and Scylla were both from prestigious pureblood families and had connections with the rest of Slytherin house. Below them were the Bulstrode twins, Lenore and Jonathan. They had the same features: a broad nose and thick neck that were accentuated by their caterpillar-like eyebrows.

Even lower on the pecking order was poor Madeline Hopper who suffered as a servant for Scylla's whims and the second year Hubert Gubson who was Flint's muscle.

Scylla had tried to bully Himari into her service, but when it became clear that isolation and thinly veiled insults did nothing to ruffle her feathers, she pulled in Caelum to help.

Caelum was a handsome boy with raven black hair and good strong features. Mean and spiteful he would tease those below him relentlessly with childish delight.

To Himari he was just a spoiled bully, who lacked the cunning to be anything more.

He was related to an older third year on the Quidditch team which gave him some pull with the older students, using that they'd harassed her in the dorms and called her names about her heritage.

She'd responded by avoiding the common rooms and returning only when the library was closed. Eventually, the group gave up content to leave her alone as long as she continued earning them points in classes and stayed out of their way.

After an unusually long night of suffering through charms homework and a destroyed inkwell in her bag courtesy of Madeline, she found herself wishing for a strong cup of tea.

With a groan, she rolled over her bed debating whether or not to send a letter to Ba-chan begging her to send her some Oolong or at least Jasmine. While she quite enjoyed Hogwarts food it was hard to find a good cup of freshly brewed tea.

She opened her bag at cast a cleaning charm.

Himari had gotten particularly good at the spell, especially with the amount of sabotage aimed at her possessions. Honestly, she couldn't blame Madeline for targeting her, the Halfblood was just doing her best to survive by drawing the attention away from her and on to Himari.

After a brief moment of much-needed rest, she forced herself up with her newly cleaned stuff and headed down into the common room.

"Oops didn't see you there." She heard laughter as she entered the common room.

On the floor, she saw a tiny effeminate boy, his papers and other items sprawled out on the floor around him.

Caelum stood over the boy a sneer on his face, Scylla to his right.

"You better hurry it would be a shame if you were late to Transfiguration again," Caelum drawled in a way that made her bristle. The familiar urge to punch him and the cow on his arm in the face rose up quickly pushed down by rational thought.

Flint and his posse left with snickers, Jonathan kicked a pile of books as he passed and the boy cowered back from Hubert's glare.

Left alone with the boy Himari observed as he crawled around gathering his scattered school supplies, she felt a little bit of sympathy for her classmate. With a sigh, she placed her bag on the floor and stepped forward picking up a charms book by her foot.

"Here."

The boy looked up in shock eyes darting back and forth between the book and her eyes searching for any signs of deception or evil intentions. Warily he accepted the book, Himari was reminded of a skittish rabbit by the boy's movements.

He was very pretty his features delicate and refined like a woman. His skin was pale, blonde hair was more gold than yellow, and his hazel eyes glowed like amber in the sun. Himari felt a little jealous, she self consciously remembered that she'd forgotten to brush her hair this morning.

"Thank you." His voice was light and airy, beautiful as the rest of him. He looked away from her staring at a spot on the floor by her feet.

"Think nothing of it." she waved her hand dismissively.

The boy bobbed his head once in skittish acknowledgment before hurrying out of the common room, not once did he meet her eyes.

 **-o-**

"Can you explain why you add ginger to this potion?"

Himari looked up at Grayson who was pointing at a page in the textbook he was reading. The two of them had set up on a table in the little corner near the window, homework spread out all around them.

"Ginger is a good component to add for medicinal potions that are particularly hard to stomach."

"But how do you know which potions you can add it to and which you can't?" Grayson asked.

Himari flipped the page of her textbook as she answered, "Anything with an eye of newt or dragon hair, will have a bad reaction with ginger; also the same goes for fluxweed unless boom berry is there to negate the negative effects."

Grayson nodded looking down at his parchment and quickly writing the information down with his quill only to find his inkwell empty. Cursing he searched through his bag, papers rustling as he searched.

After watching him struggle for a couple minutes, Himari took pity on her study partner and passed over an inkwell of her on.

"Thanks," Grayson said gratefully.

"They spilling ink on all your stuff?"

"You'd think they'd at least use their own and refrain from wasting my supplies," Grayson said blandly as he wrote down his notes.

Himari nodded in agreement, she'd taken to storing her inkwells in a warded chest after the third time she'd found ink all over her stuff.

Like her Grayson was a loner. Unliked her he was of pureblood status, but she'd heard from one of Scylla's late-night gossip sessions that his branch of the family was mainly Hufflepuffs or Gryffindors. Combined with his permanent disinterest and disdain for anything that required effort, He had made himself an outcast of the house.

"I could ward some of your stuff if you'd like," Himari offered.

"It's alright they've stopped targeting me by this point as long as I continue to stay out of their way." he finished his paper at the minimum requirement of length pushing the inkwell back towards her.

"Honestly I would have offered earlier, but I thought you'd set some already."

The boy shrugged, "Too much effort."

She shook her head at his answer as he yawned lazily stretching his lanky arms above his head. Himari had observed early on, that much to her disappointment, Grayson was taller than her by a good amount (just like the rest of the bloody school).

"Wake me up when the library closes." The redhead rested himself comfortably on the desk, eyes shut to the fading sunlight.

Himari worked on her Charms and Potions homework until the library had turned dark. Packing up her stuff she turned to wake Grayson up, reaching out she paused as she caught sight of his face.

During the day Grayson wore a permanent look of blank disinterest, he never seemed to react to anything with more than a quick glance over. Sleeping, his features seemed to relax.

Observing his peaceful expression, she brushed back a strand of red hair from his eyes. In the candlelight, Grayson appeared quite handsome. His hair already a few shades darker than that of the Weasley twins looked like blood in the flickering light.

"Grayson." Himari nudged him awake.

The peaceful look lasted a second before he blinked and the familiar blank expression returned.

"Time to go?"

"Yup."

She waited patiently as he packed his bag and the pair headed out together.

 **-o-**

Himari hummed a small show tune she'd heard on the radio last summer. The song was upbeat and catchy, and she'd driven Oba-san insane singing it all the time.

She walked through the Hogwarts corridors occasionally waving at the portraits that caught her eye. Distracted by a pretty woman in a red ballgown Himari walked into someone before her.

Stumbling backward of balance, the person she'd knocked into whirled around in a fury. An apology rose to her lips until she took in the situation.

She blinked as Caelum glared down at her, eyes glancing over the boy's shoulder to see a Hufflepuff boy on the floor, Hubert and Jonathan standing above him.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

"Nothing that concerns you, Fujioka." Caelum hissed taking a threatening step forward.

She raised a derisive brow in answer. She looked over her three housemates, the smart thing to do in this situation would be to back away. She was already unpopular enough in her house and doing anything now would just make that worse.

Making eye contact with the Hufflepuff, Himari made her decision, she sighed.

"I think that either, you and your goons rethink your current actions, or I go looking for Professor Sprout."

Caelum scowled and raised his wand at her.

She scoffed, "Put that away Flint we both know who is better at Charms here," she looked at him challengingly. It was true that she could take Caelum in a one on one duel, but even with her impressive grades, she'd be hard pressed to win if the three ganged up on her.

Keeping her thoughts to herself, she took a page out of Grayson's book and kept her face disinterested and nonchalant.

Caelum's eyes flickered between her and his friends, "Whatever forgot about it, it's not worth it." He put his wand back in his pocket in a show of bravado. Motioning at his group to follow, Caelum stopped right next to her leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Better watch your step Fujioka, I won't forget this."

She didn't react, and this seemed to anger the other Boy who stormed of down the hall.

Letting out a huff of relief Himari adjusted the bag over her shoulder.

"Thank you." The Hufflepuff boy said, pushing himself up from the floor.

"No problem, Flint and his goons are buffoons."

The boy huffed a laugh, straightening out his robes and running a hand through his skewed hair.

"To be honest, I thought I was screwed when you showed up," He chuckled nervously, giving her a hesitant grin.

"Because I'm a Slytherin." She said flatly.

The boy's eyes widened, "No, No." He waved his hand's in frantic denial, "It's just because... Well, you know.."

She chuckled at his sheer look of panic, "Nah don't worry about it if I were in your position I'd think that too."

His look suddenly turned serious, "No I was wrong."

Himari tilted her head in question at his statement.

"I shouldn't have judged you just because of what House you came from, I'm sorry it was my mistake." He apologized.

"Seriously, it's really not that big of a deal." Himari brushed it off. The boy had no need to apologize, anyone in Hogwarts would have reacted the same way he had. The Slytherin house had a bad name, and honestly, everything her house did just made it worse.

The boy pursed his lips,"I think it is."

"Well, that's your opinion, as long as you're not afraid of me now I don't care." She shrugged.

He looked skeptical at her answer but he seemed to realize she wouldn't change her mind and nodded in acceptance.

"Well anyways, Thank you, I'm Cedric Diggory." He held out his hand a blindingly sincere smile flashed her way.

"Himari Fujioka." She reached out her hand to grab his own. Her fingers wrapped around his.

 _A Graveyard, a cauldron smoke billowing around its sides._

 _A small man shriveled up waved a wand towards two boys._

 _"Kill the spare!"_

 _A flash of green light the older of the two dropped._

 _Eyes glassy and lifeless._

"Himari are you okay?"

The world came back into focus, she was in Hogwarts. Startled she dropped Cedric's hand like she'd been scalded with hot water.

"Are you okay?" Cedric asks a worried look on his face.

Himari felt sick, her head hurt, turning around she fled down the stairs. Ignoring the worried calls behind her she ran. Away from Cedric, and those eyes, the ones she had just seen cold, lifeless, and dead.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed Chapter 3!**

 **Thanks for reading, Crystal Knight.**


	4. Chapter 4

Himari was not proud of the fact that she started avoiding Cedric. Every time they had classes with Hufflepuff she found a seat as far away from the other as possible and left as soon as the class ended. In the hallways she'd jump behind statues or turn down unused corridors whenever the familiar blond was seen surrounded by crowds of yellow robed Hufflepuffs.

It'd gotten to the point when the usually unfazed Grayson asked if she was alright. (He dropped the question after she refused to answer but, Himari was still touched to know that he cared)

The constant nightmares of Cedric's cold dead eyes had her throwing herself into her schoolwork, desperate for any distraction. She'd gotten particularly far into ancient runes which became useful in setting protective barriers around her belongings. (Caelum hadn't been kidding about making her pay, but for the most part, she'd avoided his attempts at retribution.)

She'd also advanced herself in potions, her papers continuously got the highest marks. All in all, she'd been successful in blocking out the traumatic memory and avoiding the Hufflepuff boy.

"Professor, I was wondering if I could meet you later to discuss some of my theories?"

Snape looked up from his pile of papers and stared at her, Himari could feel herself sweating over his cold gaze. After a long awkward silence he nodded his head in a reluctant answer, "Come to my office after dinner."

"Yes, sir."

Himari flashed a quick smile at the professor and scurried off to catch up with Grayson.

Snape had a reputation of being one of the strictest and meanest teachers at Hogwarts and while she could see his unfair treatment of those not in his house she couldn't help but like the man. He was a genius at potions and knew other subjects to an impressive degree. She'd found herself having more and more conversations with her Head of house who was always a good person to bounce of any ideas she'd come up with.

He also had a very dry and sarcastic sense of humor that Himari found quite enjoyable.

"What did you ask Professor Snape?" Grayson asked as they left the dungeons.

"Just wanted to see if my theories on using lacewing flies to neutralize the side effects of bone would work if newt eye was in the potion."

"I understood almost none of what you just said." The boy deadpanned.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a familiar pair of redheads. They had their heads together whispering to each other in hushed tones.

She had seen the Weasley twins a couple of times in class with Gryffindors, the first couple times she had attempted to wave at them and start a conversation, but for some reason, her presence seemed to make them nervous and they quickly made excuses to get away. It hurt a little when she realized that her first friends at Hogwarts had succumbed to old house prejudices.

"What are those two doing now?" Grayson asked warily eyes darting around looking for potential traps. Only into the first few months of the school year, the twins had already established themselves as troublemakers. Their pranks were on their way to gaining a legendary status in the castle's halls.

"Who knows," she shrugged watching intently as Fred pulled his wand out subtly from the pocket of his robes. His lips moved as he murmured a spell took aim and fired.

She watched as a jet of silver light shot out of the end down the hallway smacking into Jonathan Bulstrode's back who stumbled into his sister creating a domino reaction that snagged Scylla, Caelum, and Madeline as well.

Unimpressed by the somewhat dismal prank Himari looked away from the sprawled our mess of Slytherins and at the twins who just realized that Grayson and her had witnessed their use of magic.

Their eyes widened in a way reminiscent of their first meeting.

A sudden squawk from her housemates drew her attention.

Himari laughed, "Bloody hell, that is awesome!"

Before her Caelum, Scylla, Madeline, and the Bulstrode twins were covered in a rainbow of glitter. The shimmery substance coating them entirely, like a second skin.

Scylla was shrieking and spitting glitter out like an offended cat while Caelum had made an attempt to brush the substance off succeeding in making the glitter change color from a garish red to a blinding yellow.

She put a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter especially as her housemates glared at her in sparkly indignation. It was a losing battle, even the stoic Grayson had a small smile on his face indicating the success of the Weasley's prank.

"What is going on here?"

Professor McGonagall's stern voice cut through Scylla's shrieks. She turned to the other students in the hall not covered in sparkles.

At the sight of the two pranksters, McGonagall sighed in understanding and exasperation.

"Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley Detention later."

"What professor!"

"We didn't do anything!"

The twins adopted looks of surprisingly convincing innocence.

"Really?" McGonagall asked dryly. Her eyebrow rose with her question.

"Well then Ms. Fujioka, Mr. Selwyn maybe you could enlighten us on what happened here." The stern woman turned her stare to the two Slytherins at the end of the hall.

Grayson and her exchanged a look, After a while, Grayson shrugged nonverbally agreeing to follow her lead, Himari smiled at her friend's show of trust.

"Honestly Professor, I didn't see anything." She answered sweetly ignoring the sounds of outrage from her housemates.

"You little..." Scylla began eyes narrowing threateningly. She cut herself off with a glance up at the Gryffindor head of house.

Professor McGonagall gave Himari a look reminiscent of the one Oba-san would give her whenever she lied. She acted the same way, as usual, smiling innocently and maintaining just enough eye contact to not seem suspicious.

Eventually, McGonagall conceded turning her attention back to the suffering Slytherins and the Weasleys.

"Alright, then Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley it seems you are off the hook." The Weasleys shared triumphant grins.

"As for you Mr. Flint and Ms. Carrow, I suggest you and your friends visit Madam Pomfrey to ensure the glitter has no adverse effects."

Grumbling the shiny Slytherins gathered themselves and shuffled down the hall leaving a trail of glitter in their wake.

As they left I caught Caelum's eye, he drew a hand over his throat in a universal sign of promised retribution.

Himari resisted the urge to stick out her tongue, better to not provoke the boy even farther. (Although it was probably too late for that)

McGonagall gave another stern look to the grinning Weasleys. Before continuing on her way to the Great Hall.

"They're going to hate you even more now." Grayson deadpanned staring at the sparkly trail of glitter on the floor.

"Eh, what's new." She shrugged.

Himari watched as the Weasley twins shuffled forwards sheepishly.

"Hey um Himari."

"Fred, George." She greeted cordially.

They stared at each other, Fred and George with sheepish glances and Himari replied with a blank look.

"Okay, I'm going to go ahead," Grayson said after a tense pause. Not waiting for her acknowledgment he left her alone with the Weasleys.

She stared at the two redheads who looked very uncomfortable under her gaze. To be honest, she wasn't angry, upset yes, angry not really.

"Thanks for, um covering for us." George elbowed a nervously shifting Fred who winced and shot his brother a betrayed look.

"Yeah thanks," he muttered.

She hummed, "Already did it once, why wouldn't I do it again," She gave them a small smile at the twins surprised looks.

Satisfied Himari prepared to leave.

"We're sorry!" Fred blurted out.

"It wasn't right of us to ignore you like that just because you're in Slytherin."

Himari closed her eyes taking a deep breath. If her encounter with Cedric had taught her anything it was that Slytherin house was seen as the evil monster hiding in Hogwarts dark corners. She'd gotten used to it, she'd convinced herself she was okay with it, Hearing it from a stranger was one thing but from her first friends... It crushed the small hope that people didn't just judge her because of the emerald green badge on her chest.

"It's fine," She said colder than she intended.

"Himari..."

"Drop it, Weasley, I said it was fine."

George flinched back from her tone. The two didn't put up a fight to stop her, as she stormed down the hall eyes hot and itchy, she ignored the feeling of the two staring at her back.

She caught up to Grayson quickly. The boy's eyes widened when he caught sight of her angry and teary face.

As she fell into pace with him he looked away from her awkwardly.

"You do know all Gryffindors are idiots."

She sniffled, letting out a small laugh as she rubbed furiously at her eyes, "That's just a house stereotype."

"Ah but all stereotypes come from a grain of truth," Grayson said wisely handing her his handkerchief.

She took the monogrammed satin and dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

"Thanks." She said Grayson nodded in response.

Himari sighed, it sucked that her first friends were jerks, looking back up at Grayson who looked straight ahead back straight and tense, a testament to how awkward he felt, she smiled, at least she had managed to make a good one.

 **-o-**

Her only regret from her interaction with the Weasley's was the increased harassment. This time she had really angered Flint. The boy had been true to his word, wielding his influence in the older years he'd made her life much harder.

A group of third-year Slytherins bumped into her pushing her into the wall with laughter, Himari kept her eyes down just enough to seem disinterested and at the same time undefiant as she continued down the corridor.

Grayson, in his stoic ways, had subtly offered to wait for her and go to class with each other (under the pretense of needing intelligent conversation), but Himari had declined. She didn't want to drag her friend into her own messes.

Her hope of one of the house prefects stepping in to at least promote some form of house unity in front of the school was squashed the first time Isolde caught a couple of fourth years heckling her down the halls. She'd simply made eye contact briefly with Himari before smiling coldly and ignoring her completely, obviously, she was still upset over Himari's earlier refusal of an alliance.

Sometimes, Himari hated how petty her house could be.

She made her way towards the library tensing as the third years continued to follow her not quite done with their bullying.

She clenched her teeth resisting the urge to look over her shoulder.

Her best bet to avoid a confrontation was to go to the Great Hall where the presence of a teacher would dissuade her Housemates from continuing their abuse. The issue with that plan was that they were way to far away from the Great Hall for Himari to make it there without the other Slytherins figuring out the plan.

Already they were getting suspicious as she missed the staircase that led to the library. If she had been in any other house perhaps she could have walked by a large group of Gryffindor kids, but seeing how she was dressed in emerald green they'd be more likely to ignore her than come to her defense.

She quickened her pace, heart picking up a little as the sounds of thumping feet behind her matched it. Eyes darting back and forth down the mostly empty hall she spotted an open door around a corner. Letting her body relax deceptively she came to a stop waiting until the sounds of steps behind her did as well.

She took a deep breath and ran forward as fast as she could.

Shouts of shock from the students behind her quickly changed into ones of anger. Gripping the wall she slingshotted around the corner sliding into the open room throwing her shoulder to close the door behind her with a slam. Breathing heavily she held her ear to the door listening to the sounds of thundering footsteps racing by in hot pursuit.

Himari let out a sigh of relief as the sounds of her tormenters faded in the distance. Slumping down she breathed in and out her pulse pounding in her ears. The cool wood of the door behind her warmed up under her hot skin the relief was short lived.

"Why did I have to be put into Slytherin?"

She moaned putting her head into her hands, if only she wasn't so self righteous. Sure she was ambitious and cunning but if those were her only qualities than her life in the den of snakes would be so much easier.

"So you are just going to quit when things get tough?" A dissaproving voice that sounded a lot like Oba-san asked derisively.

Himari scowled at that.

As much as she hated to admit it pitying herself wasn't the answer, steeling herself she looked up decsion made.

Her eyes met steel blue and she yelped scrambling back and staring wide eyed at the silent boy before her.

"Why are you here?!" She jumped up.

"I was here first!" The boy immediately blushed covering his face in embaressment obviously not having meant to shout back at her.

Standing up warily she kept her eyes on the other Slytherin who refused to look back. He looked pretty much the same as that day in the common room his skin still enviously flawless and eyes filled with heavy defeat.

"Your right your right, I'm sorry." She amended quickly putting a hand up to reassure the skittish boy.

The frightened look in his eyes faded away into relief, "Oh, Oh okay."

The two fell into an awkward silence, Himari sighed after at least a minute had passed.

"Do you mind if I do some Homework here?" She didn't want to go to the library in fear that her housemates were waiting for her.

The other boy looked up surprised and then nodded in reply. Setting down her bag at an empty desk she watched as the other boy picked up a violin from besides him, quickly put away in the chaos of her entrance.

"Do you play?" She asked, the boy jumped, Himari began to wonder how shy this kid really was as she watched him stutter for an answer.

"I-I do." The boy looked up at her shyly.

His inocent vulnerable looking face hit a chord in her soft heart.

"That's really awesome," The smile that lit up on his face with her words gave her a rush of satisfaction, the defeated look in his eyes seemed to melt away with his joy.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to learn but I never had the patience." She admitted sheepishly. Her attempts at trying to learn the piano had been deemed as wastes of time by Oba-san.

The boy laughed. His delicate lips opened daintily as breathy laughs like the sound of wind chimes filled the room

Bloody hell even his laughter is pretty. Himari observed in wonder and jealousy.

"Oh yeah I don't think I ever introduced myself, I'm Himari Fujioka." She felt a little awkward under his intense stare, and smiled brightly relieved as he replied.

"Elias Weber"

"It's nice to meet you Elias." Himari bobbed her head in greeting before turning back to her charms work.

Soon the sounds of sweet high and clear violin covered the scratching sounds of her quill on parchment. It was beautiful, high and clear, she shut her eyes pausing mid sentence as the music flowed through the room.

Turning around she caught Elias's eye and mouthed in awe "This is amazing."

The boy flushed pink and the tune of the violin picked up in pace becoming a fun and cheerful song.

When he finished Himari had just finished her essay on the levitation charm, and the sun had set so the light filtering through the windows bathed the room in an orange glow

"Do you want to walk back with me?" Himari asked as the boy packed away his violin.

He startled at her voice his head bobbing up and down in a tiny nod. Himari sighed in relief, the third years had probably given up by now and even if they hadn't they were less likely to attack her when she was with someone else.

As she watched the feminine boy scramble to get his stuff together and hurry to her side, she felt warm as his eyes met hers and lit up with joy. Besides since he was defending her from bullies it was only fair that she returned the favor.

 **-o-**

"I'm not quite sure what this is" Himari squinted at the offending object on the desk.

"Maybe it's cursed to make your skin rot off." Elias chimed in.

"Please don't say that with so much joy." She deadpanned. After a couple weeks of Elias joining their library sessions the effeminate boy had really opened up and shown his true colors as hyperactive and slightly sadistic. It was a complete 180 of his starting personality and it still made her head spin when she caught him stuttering to talk with his desk mate in potions.

"Or they could just be flowers," Grayson said in exasperation fed up with the conversation. He was still a little cranky with her for bringing in Elias without telling him and it didn't help that he had spilled the Grayson's inkwell on to his new robes and laughed as Himari rushed to fix it with a cleaning charm before Grayson could do something unsavory to their new friend.

"Who do you think they're for?" She asked in question staring at the thin vase that held a single green stem that had bursts of Star like purple flowers bursting from the end in a bell shape.

"Seeing how you're the one who take them every day, I believe they're for you," Grayson snarked and Himari glared at him.

Elias reached a hand out to touch the stem and promptly jumped back hissing in pain. "It bit me!" He shrieked the noise earned a glare from an irate looking Madam Pince.

"Really?" Himari asked skeptically.

She observed the flowers, they looked harmless enough reaching a hand out she grabbed it and lifted the flower form the vase.

She sent Elias a long suffering look who spluttered defensively.

"It did I swear!"

"Uh huh," Grayson muttered from behind his textbook.

Elias pouted, "you're both jerks." He huffed throwing himself into an open chair.

Himari rolled her eyes as Elias stubbornly refused to make eye contact with her.

She brought the flower close to her and sniffed it. It smelled lovely, better than she logically knew flowers should, but that was the great thing about magic, when it's in use logic doesn't apply.

"What is that like the third flower this month?" Grayson's question drew her attention away from the purple blooms.

"What are you jealous?" she stuck out her tongue.

Grayson gave her a look, "Yes, I'm so jealous of your purple pollen producers." He sniffed in the haughty way that Scylla would occasionlly when Himari walked into their dorm.

"What happened to you to make you like this." Himari sighed as Grayson ignored her in favor for his book, "So much anger can not be healthy." She mused, Elias laughed lightly as Grayson scowled.

"Excuse me is there a Himari Fujioka here?" Himari turned to see a nervous looking Hufflepuff stand at the front of their table. He was a short boy with sandy hair who looked very uncomfortable under the combined weight of their stares.

"That would be me," Himari cast a quick preservation charm on to the flower slipping it into her bag.

"P-Professor Snape is looking for you." The boy rushed away as soon as the message was finished and left Himari blinking in confusion. She looked over at Elias who had seemingly shrunk in on himself with the newcomers arrival.

"I wonder what he wants me for?" She wondered alooud as she slung her bag over her shoulder and grabbed her discarded scarf.

Elias still sat quietly and Grayson seemed to have reached the limit of how much conversation he was willing to make and spared her a glance that conveyed his annoyance and at the same time his opinion that _"of course she wasn't in trouble and the proffesor just wanted to nerd out with her about potions"._

She made a rude gesture at Grayson which made Elias choke before sweeping out with a satisfied smile making a beeline for the dungeons. She shivered as she walked down the stairs into the damp cold, the castle was already a little chilly as winter approached but entering the dungeouns seemed to make the chill in the air ten times worse.

As she rounded the corner that would bring her to the potions classroom a figure jumped out in front of her,

"Flipendo!"

Himari barely had time to throw her hands in front of her before she was thrown back against the hallway wall with a shriek. For a single moment she felt weightless before her head snapped painfully against the stone walls and her vision swam as shooting sparks of pain cracked in her skull.

She groaned and stumbled to her feet to come face to face with Flint and his cronies.

"Really Flint," She asked blasely, "This seems like a bit of overkill for little old me." She glanced over the intimidating form of Hubert who , with a nod from Flint, slammed her back against the wall this time with his bare hands.

She grit her teeth in pain as her world spun in and out of focus. The sparks of flickering pain became a fireworks show in her skull. This had been inevitable, Himari realized with dread as Flint grinned sharply and behind him Bulstrode laughed. She had pushed too far and sure it had been little acts of defiance here and there but in Slytherin house acts like that added up quickly. Defiance was a challenge that required answering.

Straining to get out of Hubert's grip Himari cursed herself for not being better prepared as she struggled to reach the pocket that held her wand. She'd warded her stuff but it'd never cross her mind to create a protection system for herself.

"What do you want Flint." She choked out as Hubert shoved her again.

"Nothing you can give, filthy halfbreed," He hissed, "And I'd watch your tone." He pointed his wand at her face threateningly.

Himari weighed her options, on one hand she could admit defeat and lessen her punishment now, but that would make her appear weak and opened opportunities for abuse in the future, or she could open her mouth and insult him like she dearly wanted to, and take the intense punishment now proving she wouldn't break so easily.

She went with the second option.

"I'll watch my tone when you have the balls to fight a girl on your own."

Flint's cocky look faltered, as a stormy rage overtook his features, he barred his teeth aggresively and advanced making Hubert drop her in haste to get out of his way.

"Don't think you can get away with humilating me in front of the school, we all know who has the power in our house." He sneered at the end of his sentence pressing the point of wand into her chin just enough to make it uncomfortable. Himari looked right back at him. She refused to let him see her fear.

"You do fine humiliating yourself on your own," She ignored the pain shooting through her head and spoke evenly with a frigid tone Oba-san used to wield whenever she'd done something stupid, it had always made her feel ashamed and small.

Flint snarled and withdrew his wand to look back at Bulstrode, obviously with some kind of order.

That was his mistake.

In a flash Himari grabbed her own wand and pointed it at Flint who's eyes widened in satidfying shock as she cast her spell,

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Flint's limbs snapped to his sides and he fell back on the floor with a large thud. Himari didn't stop to bask in her glory immdeiately turning to Hubert and casting a knocback jinx that sent him flying into a wall.

Unfortunately this gave Bulstrode time to cast his own spell.

"Diffindo!" Her eyes widened at the vicious spell the other boy used and she raised her arm to counter, but it wasn't fast enough. Her arm flared in red hot pain as the curse struck leaving behind a large gaping red cut.

Himari took a step back clutching at the blood that poured out of the wound. She felt dizzy looking down at the red that escaped through her fingers. Her head hurt, and the pounding sensation behind her eyes reached an unberable pressure.

"Hey stop!" Shouts rang down the halls sounded distant in her ears and she dimly registered Bulstrode being sent back by another knocback curse.

Fatigue rushed into her limbs and she felt herself crumple only to be caught by her savior. The boy grabbed her shoulders tightly, calling out for help as a furious looking Snape swept into her sight like a dark demon in a cloak of shadows.

Her vision swam, black dots dancing at its edges. A murky sounding voice sounded above her and she looked up. Himari froze as she looked into the concerned eyes of Cedric Diggory, before she could struggle away from those eyes, those haunting dead eyes of her nightmares, the dots of black engulfed her vision and she fell into blissful unconsciousness.


End file.
